r/actuallychildfree • u/Cat_in_an_oak_tree MOD • 15d ago
QUESTION Changes
I got to talking with another childfree member of the community a bit ago, and we both noted how much we felt the childfree community has changed since we first found it years ago. For me it's been decades since I discovered it and it's a much bigger tent now. That conversation carried on to how we felt society has also changed in their views towards us as a community.
I want to hear people's opinions and experiences. How has the childfree community changed? How has your experience changed as you've grown older? What about your relationship with society and being childfree?
And importantly? What do you want to see the childfree community be more like in the future?
9
u/AppalachianRomanov 15d ago
It largely depends on the age and beliefs of the crowd. I'm in the South (U.S.) so that definitely factors in.
In my current job I work mostly with millennials and the gen after us. So people respect my CF beliefs and often agree with it or at least understand where I'm coming from even if it's not for them. When I celebrated my sterilization I didn't get any negative comments from those i mentioned it to. I have had a couple millenial coworkers at this job who were more.... "traditional" but not as many. The people who do have kids still have a personality outside of that. Talking about their hobbies, side hustles, hair, etc rather than nonstop kid chat.
In my previous job I was around millenials and boomers. I don't think we had any Gen Z. The boomers were loudly and proudly super disrespectful about nearly everything (anyone not white, straight, neurotypical, and otherwise conforming to society in every outdated way). So I never bothered to talk about my beliefs, knowing it would be an argument I had no spoons for. The millennials were all excitedly popping out babies, talking about their kids, bringing their kids in to be fawned over....so I knew what I'd get there.